'We tried to cope hour by hour': the schools in shadow of Grenfell Tower

There is no ‘moving on’ for schools near the husk of Grenfell Tower, as pupils mourn friends, family and staff, and cope with the trauma of losing everything

‘It was a bit strange, it felt awkward, everyone was crowding around me,” says Sara Chebiouni, aged nine, of her return to school the week after the Grenfell Tower fire destroyed her home. Sara escaped from her family’s 9th floor flat with her parents and older brother. Her uncle, aunt and three cousins, who lived on the 21st floor, died.

Sara, now in year 5, is one of three Grenfell Tower survivors in her school, Thomas Jones, which is among 10 said by Kensington and Chelsea council to have been significantly affected by bereavements or where children have lost their homes. Another seven schools, among them four primaries and a nursery, had pupils who died, with Kensington Aldridge Academy losing five. One school has almost 40 families in temporary accommodation.

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from Children | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2A8uM3u